It Will All Work Out in the End

It Will All Work Out in the End

An intriguing story in the Bible is found in Joshua 9, called the Gibeonite Deception. Bob is probably covering this chapter this week in adult Sunday School, so I will try not to steal his thunder, though one verse sticks out: “the men of Israel … did not ask for the counsel of the LORD” (v.14).

It all worked out in the end, since the Gibeonites became “hewers of wood and drawers of water” for the Israelites. Just think, every day, heavy chores that the Israelites themselves would have had to do, they had slaves to do for them. What a blessing! It all worked out in the end. Except for the hidden costs. What costs?

Again, Bob will tell the full story on Sunday, So let me just read between the lines a little, and say that one of the reasons that Israel was to destroy the inhabitants of the Promised Land, including the Gibeonites, was because of the evil influence the idol-worshipping inhabitants would have on Israel which was to worship the one true God, the LORD, and God alone. But instead, they kept that evil influence in their midst. Are we to suppose that the evil influence did not in fact influence? We do not want to harbor cancer in our bodies, nor evil influences in our souls.

A cross-reference to Joshua 9:14 is Numbers 27:21. Someone was needed to lead the people of Israel after Moses, someone upon whom rested the Spirit of God. It would be Joshua, a uniquely suited candidate. If the people would just follow this man, it would all work out in the end. Right? That’s not what Scripture says. Our trust is not to be in the wisdom of men and their best ideas or strongest intuitions. It is to be in the guidance of God. What is the counsel of the Lord?

The text tells us (Numbers 27:11) that even the great leader Joshua is to go to the high priest, in this case, Eliezer, and seek the counsel of the Lord. Eliezer, the high priest, was outfitted with the Urim and Thummim, a breastplate by which God would signal His will. It is mysterious to us, and it is not in use today. We are to follow the dictates of Scripture and the leading of the Spirit, and not just one’s individual leading, but the counsel of spiritual leaders. This is in line with 2Pet. 1:20 “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.”

Are there exigencies in which we are justified in acting without God’s counsel? Are some crises so urgent that we need not ask for direction from above? I suppose that someone, somehow, could come up with a scenario. But such a situation is not common in life, and yet we act as though most every situation is so urgent that we must just do what comes natural, out of reflex, and not from a place of prayer that seeks the counsel of the Lord.

And do we think that it will all work out in the end if we just continue to go our own way and do what seems right in our own eyes? Or should we rather prepare to slow down and ask, along with the disciples of Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1)?

The End does not Justify the Means

The End does not Justify the Means

Our title is a common phrase that has been used in philosophy and in practical life for years and years. Some agree. Some disagree. I would like to view it from another perspective.

Many people, though not as many as at an earlier time, still believe in something called “moral absolutes.” These are encoded in such things as the Ten Commandments and other scriptural texts (“scriptural” can refer to other religons’ sacred texts). One of the important features of such moral absolutes is that they are actually written down.

But it seems many more people today have embraced moral relativism, in which the standards of morality are decided by the mood of society at the moment. What was forbidden before is allowed now. And it is not only allowed, but it must not be criticized, and further, must be affirmed. That is moral relativism encoded in public policy.

In a morally relativistic world, the means to an end are justified by the desired end. Censoring unfavorable opinions is allowed because of the absolute importance of a view that only came into vogue yesterday. People are not invited to think and debate, but only to agree, or be silent. That is but one example.

But the perspective from which I would like to evaluate the phrase, “the end does not justify the means,” (a phrase that I fully embrace, though I may not always practice it so faithfully), is based on the following verse: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NAS95)

Some day, when we stand before God (and, we will all stand before God), we will be judged “for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” This applies, in different ways, to both believers and unbelievers. For believers, we are saved and forgiven by faith in Christ. But our obedience and disobedience will be noted in relation to our (un)faithfulness. For unbelievers, such sin will be used as confirmation of their unrighteousness, for which they will be condemned, having not received the righteousness available in Christ.

Does anyone really think that they will only be judged for the ends they pursued, and not for the adoption of all kinds of cruel and selfish acts to achieve the “noble” ends? Does not “his deeds in the body” include, and even refer more specifically, to the smaller, daily acts of disobedience(the means), even if we sanctify them in our own minds as excusable? And one more time, if we agree that the highest and best End that supersedes all other ends is “to the glory of God,” then can we really posit that our dirty schemes of lying and deceiving contribute in any way to the high and holy End of glorifying God? I believe that there will be many self-righteous do-gooders at the judgment who will be shocked that God was not so pleased with their moral relativism and abandonment of Biblical and constitutional norms as they were at the time.

No, the ends do not justify the means.

Lashed to the Mast

Lashed to the Mast

I’ve read a lot of books over the years, and remember things from a few of them. One memory that I’ve retained is an image provided by pastor Eugene Peterson who wrote a book called “The Contemplative Pastor.” The illustration that he used was from classical literature, from Homer, and his book, “The Odyssey.”

The main character of The Odyssey is Odysseus, captain of a long-departed ship seeking to make their way home. One of the destructive dangers that they would face on their journey would be the Sirens’ songs, so alluring that they would be tempted to approach these beautiful figures, and would crash on the rocks.

To counteract this temptation, Odysseus filled the ears of his crew with beeswax. He then had himself lashed to the mast so that he would remain true to the mission and not pulled aside by the intoxicating songs of the beautiful maidens.

Peterson likened his ordination as being lashed to the mast. He was to be a Pastor, and one according to the dictates of Scripture. That was his mission. There are many voices that entice pastors to do something else, to do something more, but Scripture gives an outline of what God expects, and he would be lashed to the mast, steadfast in doing those things and those things alone.

My understanding of these priorities for pastoral ministry has two such imperatives at the top of the list: preach the Word, and pastoral care. That is, preach from the pulpit, and minister the Word face to face, with one or two at a time. There are many other things that pastors can or could do. But to me, following Peterson’s advice, they are to be left for others to do. It seems that they should be able to be done by members of the congregation that God has assembled.

Having adopted a corporate-style church government, many have accepted that the pastor is CEO of the organization. He is to cast vision, and assemble a team, usually a church staff, that will carry out that vision. I don’t find it in the Bible. The best youth workers we ever had were Jim and Linda, regular members who opened their hearts and homes to the young people. The best music leader we ever had was Jeremy, who led songs from the heart as he led the congregation in worship. That is the church being the church, as the pastor is allowed to pastor.

Interestingly, Peterson has written a raft of books. Perhaps we could call him a pastor of pastors, though I wonder how this is related to being “lashed to the mast.” It seems a bit like a siren’s song. It seems as though he didn’t completely followed his own advice.

But then, neither have I. I’ve done plenty of things that needed to be done, but would have been better done by someone else. All pastoring is serving, but not all serving is pastoring.